More Chances To Win! Bird of the week is now becoming Bird of the Day! Beginning Monday, February 1, 2010, we will switch from Bird of the Week to Bird of the Day. The winner will get 1,000 Bird eClub points and his or her bird’s photo will be in the spotlight all day.

01/27/2010 01:01.16 PM

What an amazing picture, wow!xoxoxoxoJust had to leave a short but sweet hello, with a vote!

HELLO HANDSOMEI have a favor to ask of you. Can you please stop by Cory's page and give him a vote. He deserves to be BOTW. He was abused very badly and he would really appreciate the honor. All you have to do to find him is go to the Profile button on the top of your page, hit that and then type in Cory where it says, searching name, that will take you to his picture, click on that and then you'll be at his page. Thanks alot and I hope you have a great day. Love, Rocky? R(*><~)R p.s. I left you a vote to.

READ THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! SEND IT TO A FRIENDA recently recognized infectious agent is killing companion, aviary, and free ranging birds throughout the world. At present, no birds are known to be resistant. This dreaded affliction is called Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD).

What species are susceptible to PDD? In the order Psittaciformes, PDD has been reported in more than 50 species, including the families Cacatuidae (Cockatoos and Cockatiels) and Psittacidae (Lovebirds, Macaws, Parakeets, Amazons, Conures). Pacific, South American, and Afro Asian species have been described with characteristic lesions. Suggestive lesions have been reported in free ranging Canada Geese and Spoonbills, Toucans, and Weavers. Other nonpsittacine birds may also prove to be susceptible to this disease as improved tests are developed to accurately diagnosis affected individuals. Clinical reports suggest that adults are more commonly affected than neonates.

When was PDD first recognized and what synonyms have been used? Proventricular Dilatation Disease has been recognized since the late 1970s. Initially, the disease seemed limited to Macaws. This fact, in conjunction with an unknown cause, gave rise to the terms Macaw Wasting or Fading Syndrome, Macaw Wasting Syndrome, and Gastric Distention of Macaws. As it became apparent that the disease occurred in psittacines other than Macaws, a more general terminology was used to describe the disease, including Psittacine Wasting Syndrome, Proventricular Hyper trophy, or Proven- tricular Dilatation Syndrome. Various terminology has also been used to describe the pathological features of this disease.

What are the signs of PDD? The most common clinical signs of PDD include depression, weight loss, constant or intermittent regurgitation, and/or passage of undigested food in the feces indicating a malabsorptive or maldigestive disorder. Proventricular impaction, muscle atrophy, abdominal enlargement, lethargy, weakness, polyuria, diarrhea, scant feces or hypotension have also been reported in some birds. When the central nervous system is involved, signs may include ataxia (bird may fall from the perch), abnormal head movements or seizures. Some affected birds may develop central nervous system signs in the absence of gastrointestinal abnormalities.

How is PDD diagnosed? A presumptive diagnosis of PDD is based on historical information, clinical signs, and radiographic evidence of proventricular dilatation or dysfunction. Confirming that a living bird has PDD is difficult. Biopsy of the ventricular or proventriculus can be used to diagnosis the disease. However, obtaining a tissue sample from these organs is invasive and dangerous. In some birds, biopsy of the crop can be used to diagnosis the disease. At necropsy, emaciation, pectoral muscle atrophy, and dilatation of the esophagus, proventriculus, ventriculus, or small intestine are observed commonly. The proventiculus may appear thin walled and friable. Microbial infections, parasitism, gastrointestina

Welcome Morgan!!I was flying by and wanted to give you a vote and a warm welcome to the bird channel. You sure have a big flock family. I love your play area.. It looks cool...I would love to have something like that..Fly by and say "HI" and we can get to know each other...I always like to make new friends...your friend, *Rocky* xoxoxox

Hello from OllieHey there Morgan, and welcome to the channel. Let me just say there is nothing wrong with playing hard to get. I'm that way sometimes. It sure looks like you have a lot of fun there with all the other Macaws. Me I just have a little Green Cheek Conure and I don't care for him all that much. He is way too bossy. Anywho, here is a vote for you. Stop by and visit with me anytime.

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